Emmerich talks Independence Day Trilogy

Sometimes a movie comes along that is so enjoyable all on its own that it doesn’t need a sequel. So the most logical thing to do is try and make one.

But Ronald Emmerich is no slacker, no sir. He isn’t hoping to make one unneccessary sequel to Independence Day, but two! I mean it worked so well with the Matrix, so why not?

Dark Horizons quotes Emmerich:

“What we want to do in the next – it’s actually two movies – we want to do a bigger arc. Independence Day was always like the king who leads his troops into battle against an evil force, and that stays like that” said Emmerich.

No script is yet in place, but “the idea is just to continue the story and actually I don’t know how many years ago this was—twelve, thirteen, fourteen years ago—and just continue where it ended.”

I am sure that the alien invasion didn’t consist of every member of their race. Perhaps a retalitory force arrives and a prepared Earth will stand against it. Maybe they learn from the fallen technology and improve their weapons.

But the big quesiton is if it will involve Will Smith. I could deal with it if it doesn’t as long as the story is interesting. But my favourite part was Jeff Goldblum.

I just don’t see them capturing the multi story arc of the first that made it so enjoyable. Its not impossible, but I have little hope. I want them to prove me wrong because the first film was a lot of fun.

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35 thoughts on “Emmerich talks Independence Day Trilogy

  1. The film is pretty much contained unto itself. Maybe it could go the way District 9 went … try and consider the world, now in the knowledge of alien life. Even the odd few aliens who survived the destruction. They may even evolve faster than humans and therefore can represent more intelligent ways of life and how capitalism may use and abuse this resource making a comment on the consumer current nature of America. The final part could be as civil war breaks out amongst the evolving aliens and others intervene to stop it unsuccessfully … it wold be tough though.

  2. I generally find myself disappointed in most sequels, very few live up to the first movie and Independence Day was one that I really enjoyed. The aliens destroying earth thing has been done MANY times and I don’t think there is a lot of original ideas left to make it worth watching too many more times.

  3. ID4 was sooooo baaaddd!!!! So Gloriously Bad. One of the greatest bad films ever made. The film Ed Wood would have made given 1oo mil to make (although I bet ed could have brought it in under 20)…… PLEEEAAASSSEEEEE. Make the sequeals. And while your at it…. BATTLEFIELD EARTH 2.

  4. Emmerich’s films are all about the spectacle. The characters are always so one dimensional, and often just plain irritating. I often thought that if his films had half decent characters, they might actually be brilliant films. As it is, they’re just about the spectacle.

    I would have absolutely no interest in an ID4 sequel, because I don’t give a crap about the characters. I don’t care what happens to them next. Hell, I didn’t even care about them during the first movie.

    Since every famous landmark in the ID4 world is already destroyed, what does that leave for a sequel to do?

    1. There are plenty of landmarks left to ‘splode.

      And I am sure there is a hidden cell of aliens that landed quietly in Canada that will be out for revenge. Not a single mention of Canadian landmarks, or a ship crashing down over Canada. Im telling you this place is so nice the Aliens wanted to live here (while literally tapping every other resource dry) during their stay.

  5. I thought the first one was what is great about summer popcorn flicks. Deep, no. Fun, yes. The fact that they could hack an advanced civilizations systems after starting with just a “signal” is laughable but I still enjoyed the hell out of the film. They probably shouldn’t make another one but movies like that always have me wondering what happens next.

  6. Yeah I liked this movie when it first came but it hasn’t held up through the years. I cannot sit through the whole movie these days…I like the beginning and then lose interest half way through. Emmerich has only made crap movies since, so my interest in this possible project is nil.

  7. Independence Day movie came out when I was but a teenager, and of course being a teenager I loved it at the time. I had a geekgasm in the theatre. If I watched it now I’d probably end up cringing myself to death or throwing a shoe at the TV five minutes into the movie. Indeed, times do change.

    With that said I’d be interested to see what they come up with for sequels to the movie, although I’d probably never watch them. I mean unless they actually were…you know, good.

      1. It wasn’t the fight scenes that were the problem, it was the plot. The Wachowski brothers spent YEARS writing the original Matrix, and it’s one of the best action flicks out there today. Reloaded and Revolution were rushed, and sucked as a result.

      2. I agree Jake. The sequels were just some flashy effects and a weak rushed story that doesn’t grip the viewer.

        I ask anyone who is a big fan of the series why they liked it and the first thing they reference is the effects and the fights.

        All shiny and fun to look at, but they dont hold up to the original concept or story.

      3. I’m one of the few who actually liked the Matrix sequels better than the original – probably because I wasn’t expecting the sequels to be the same as the first. I wanted giant fight scenes and cool looking robot-stuff, and that’s what I got.

        The first movie was a basic sci-fi flick to me – the sequels added layers of depth, even if everyone was disappointed that it didn’t have some “revealing twist” like the first one.

      4. Basically, the sequels overdid their concept. The first one worked and it was fresh and new. The sequels made everything over the top in order to recreate that freshness.

  8. I might be one of the few that didn’t in any way like this movie, so for me, hearing this news is DEFINITELY saying “Hollywood has no good enjoyable stories for the masses”. These movies will be even worse than the first, and the ONLY reason (outside money and fame) to make them will be to showcase how “improved” our CGI has become since the original.

  9. Bring back Randy Quaid!!!!

    Seriously this is one of those flicks that I enjoyed watching somewhat in the theatre, it was cheesy beyond belief and it had a 90’s stench all over it, but it had action and aliens (2 things I really like in sci-fi lite)but it’s not a real exciting watch the 2nd time around years later, it’s actually laughable at times .the president’s (Bill Pullman’s) acting was horrible and followed a then-tired formula….

    now that hollywood has officially run of of creative ideas we get this news…

  10. If this takes places years after, I can almost guarantee that the central characters would involve the “guy who took one for team human”s kids leading a team seeking some revenge.

    I just don’t know though, it will be tough to recreate that same multi arch storyline that made the first I-day enjoyable to watch.

  11. They will have to think of a new threat. We know they can be defeated with a computer virus on a 13 year old Mac laptop, so our current technology would just wipe the aliens clean out.

  12. I agree Rodney. The movie alone was just a great cheesy fun spectacle (one of my favorite movies), and I honestly don’t think we need a sequel At all. I don’t really like the idea of this being blown up and turned in Terminator (but with aliens). And if they ARE going to do it anyway, I agree they need Jeff Goldblum, whether Smith shows or not.

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